NASPAA - Accreditation
Specialized Accreditation: NASPAA
The MS Management degree Program at NPS is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). This program accreditation signifies a high quality education in management and that a number of dimensions of that program have undergone a rigorous review and assessment by an external evaluator.
The NASPAA Standards are the quality benchmark used by graduate public service programs around the world. NASPAA’s accreditation process is mission-based and driven by public service values. Accredited programs must contribute to the knowledge, research, and practice of public service, establish observable goals and outcomes, and use information about their performance to guide program improvement. They must practice truth in advertising and ensure their students achieve learning objectives in five domains essential to public service. The five domains of universal required competencies are to:
- Lead and manage in the public interest
- Participate in, and contribute to, the policy process
- Analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make evidence-informed decisions in a complex and dynamic environment
- Articulate, apply, and advance a public service perspective
- Communicate and interact productively and in culturally responsive ways with a diverse and changing workforce and society at large
There are four phases throughout the NASPAA accreditation process: Prerequisite, Eligibility, Self Study, and the Accreditation Cohort. A program should expect to spend at least 23 months in the accreditation process, varying by program, beginning with the submission of the eligibility application and culminating with the final accreditation action two years later.
Once a program elects to go through the accreditation process, it begins by conducting a one year-long self study, which is then submitted to Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA). COPRA reviews the self study, and then continues the process with a three day campus visit by a COPRA-appointed site visit team. The process culminates in a final review by COPRA, which makes a decision as to whether the program is in conformity with the NASPAA Accreditation Standards.
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